


something you lost

by chancellorxofxtrash



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Carly is bi and bad at handling it, Guilt, Multi, Polyamory, Sedoretu, okay everyone is bi but Carly is very bad at handling it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26445121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chancellorxofxtrash/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: Carly is looking for a scoop - and her road leads her to Crash Town, and towards a certain God of Death.And meeting him brings back memories Carly forgot - but the answers just bring more questions.Regardless, her future seems to be not too bad, judging by the fact that she keeps drawing Fortune Fairy Hu.She was certainly hoping so.
Relationships: Kiryuu Kyousuke/Carly Nagisa, implied Izayoi Aki/Carly Nagisa, implied future Jack Atlas/Fudou Yuusei/Crow Hogan/Izayoi Aki/Kiryuu Kyousuke/Carly Nagisa, past Jack Atlas/Fudou Yuusei/Crow Hogan/Kiryuu Kyousuke, referenced Jack Atlas/Carly Nagisa, referenced Jack Atlas/Fudou Yuusei/Crow Hogan/Izayoi Aki
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	something you lost

**Author's Note:**

> Did this fic need sedoretu? No.  
> Does this fic have sedoretu? Yes.
> 
> If you are not familiar with sedoretu, here is a rundown: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Sedoretu

“Aaaah, everything is so hot… why do I even need to be here… I would much rather look for scoop back in Neo Domino City… I bet Jack is doing something interesting again… the others too… but noo…”

Carly did not particularly like this hot and dry weather, this far away from Neo Domino City.

“We heard rumours of a former resident of the city might be stirring up trouble out there,” her boss had said, with a frown on his face. “You can’t waste your time always running after Jack Atlas! We need variety in our newspaper, so make yourself useful and get out there, or else you are fired!”

Angela smirked a bit at her, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Maybe it will be good for you,” She said, with a mocking tone. “Being far away from Jack Atlas might do some good for you. He has enough Mornings around him, you know. Better for you to move on. We both know you have a problem with that.”

Carly gritted her teeth as she approached the town that was getting closer and closer.

Stupid Angela.

They had known each other for a long time and  _ known _ each other, and Angela moved on easier than Carly, and she never let Carly forget that.

At one point she even asked Carly if she had a  _ thing  _ for blondes, which at that point, caused Carly to throw her camera at her head.

The camera broke.

And on it, all the pictures Carly had of her latest scoop.

She let out a deep sigh.

“Whatever she says… I know what I know! I will deliver a great scoop and then go and support Jack. That will be fine! Yes! I gotta read my fortune first, before I get to town, though…”

Carly scrambled to her pocket, pulling out her deck, shuffled, and pulled out a card--

Fortune Fairy Ann.

_ Unhappy. _

Carly let out a deep sigh, putting the card back to the deck.

“I didn’t really need my cards to tell me that…”

She couldn’t explain it.

As far as she knew, Jack just lived at her place, listened to her, and then…

...and then.

And then Jack was out of her life almost as quick as he arrived, barely sparing another glance at her, and her heart should not have been broken, but it was.

“Anyway!” Carly exclaimed, straightening her back. “Past is the past, and not like I remember it anyways. So! Better not dwell on it! I can always change things once I get back! I’m here now anyways. Gotta go get that scoop!”

So he walked under the town’s name, glancing up a little.

Crash Town was kind of an ominous name.

~*~

“This is not the best place for young frail women like you.”

The woman was an Evening and stunningly beautiful, and sharp eyes focused on her, and Carly felt her face heat up as she looked away.

“I just… I came from Neo Domino City… I’m a reporter.”

“A reporter?” The woman’s face was amused. “Want to hear the story of the town? You sure?”

“Y---yes!” Why was it so hot? “That’s what I’m here for. That’s my job.”

The woman smiled, and then extended a hand.

“I’m Barbara. Come on in, I will tell you what you need to know, and then… you will see why our town is dead.”

So she did, and she listened to Barbara’s tale - of the miners, the two groups facing each other.

Duelling Hour.

“How… why did this happen?”

Barbara shrugged.

“Human nature, I suppose. But you will see the details this evening… and then you will see, if it is worth for you to stay around, or to even write about this town.”

The evening came, the sun was setting, and the two groups arrived - plenty of people on both sides.

The Marco family sent out a champion.

And then it was time for the Ramon family.

And…

There was the sound of harmonica, as a person appeared walking from the sunset - long silver hair moving after him alongside with his long coat, and when Carly saw his face---

His face--

_ His hair was shorter then, and was wearing different outfits, the marker on his face red, his eyes darker, and--- _

“Watch,” Barbara whispered. “The God of Death had arrived.”

_ God, god, god, and death, god of death, there were people screaming back then, lots of screaming, as Carly tried to watch from the helicopter--- _

The duel started.

The man was fast, but he barely spoke - his voice blunt, methodical.

Precise.

_ It wasn’t like that back then, no, with his loud, mocking tone and his laughter, oh god, the laughter, remembering that laugh felt like he was dragging nails down on Carly’s spine, and he was not like this back then at all, he was cruel, he was menacing, he was--- _

The silver haired man won, and his opponent got dragged away towards the mountain. Half of the spectators cheered, the other half sneered, and the man in the middle barely moved.

Then they started to retreat, and Carly felt her body move.

She heard Barbara calling after her, but she barely even heard it, as she bursted out of the bar and--

“Kiryu!”

The man stopped, turned around and looked at her - and in his eyes Carly first saw confusion, but then---

Recognition.

“You recognize me!”

“Ooooh?” Kiryu’s boss snickered. “Look at this little Morning girl. Is she yours? Finally getting hitched?”

Kiryu turned away from Carly, and walked towards one of the D-wheels, without a word.

“W---wait! Kiryu!”

The D-wheelers left, leaving Carly behind to cough from the dust - and then Barbara was there, grabbing her shoulders, as if her fingers were claws.

“You know him?! How do you know him?!”

How indeed.

“I… I just… From Neo Domino City… Please, it hurts--”

“Does this mean you know Yusei Fudo as well?!”

“...Yusei…? Yes… I did… not much but I---”

Barbara suddenly let her go, and there were many different expressions running through her face, and Carly just rubbed her shoulders where Barbara grabbed her.

“Please… Please Barbara, I got to know where can I find him! I need to talk with him!”

“Why?” Barbara asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Why would you want to talk with a half-dead man?”

“He isn’t half-dead!” Carly snapped. “I need to talk with him!”

_ I saw him when he was dead. This is not like that. _

She needed to find Kiryu.

~*~

She ended up running that way on foot, to the direction where Barbara pointed her. On her way, she reached into her bag, grabbing her deck again.

“Please… please tell me, will this visit go well?”

She pulled a card.

Fortune Fairy Hu.

_ Not too bad. _

The text on the card also said  _ you might find something you lost. _

“I hope so,” Carly muttered, putting her cards away. “I certainly hope so.”

She had to climb over a wall, which resulted in her painfully landing in a bush - and quickly being surrounded.

Obviously.

_ Wasn’t it supposed to be not so bad? _

“Hey there--- hey, you got a real fan in this one! Are you sure you should have followed him here, though?”

They were laughing, but Carly’s eyes were scanning the crowd.

“Kiryu! I know you are here…! Kiryu!”

Hands grabbed her arm, trying to take away her bag, and she screamed, struggling, and---

“Let her go.”

Kiryu appeared out of nowhere, and the hands let her go immediately.

And Kiryu was there in front of Carly - his eyes focused on her, and he had such a presence that it made Carly’s face feel warm up.

Again.

“Hey look, she is blushing!”

“She really is your fan…!”

“Why are you here?” Kiryu asked, ignoring the men’s voices.

“You recognized me.”

Silence.

“You have recognized me as well.”

“That’s different. I had seen you before--- before I------- you remember. You  _ remember. _ ”

Silence again.

“I do.”

“...please. Please, Kiryu. Talk to me. Let me stay.”

“What are you looking for?”

“...answers. Mostly.”

“I cannot answer myself, let alone others.”

“...you still know more than me. Please, I… I need to know.”

Kiryu turned away without a word.

“Let her be.”

And after that he walked off again.

Well.

At least Carly was close to him now.

~*~

It was a daily game of hide and seek - during the day, Carly would run around the compound, looking for Kiryu, much to the amusement of everyone in the Ramon family. Thankfully, they left her alone, but they weren’t much help, really.

Every day, around twilight, they would go out, and Carly hoped Kiryu would always come back.

And he did.

She got better at tracking him down on her third day there.

“How much do you know about me?”

Kiryu asked it, lowering his harmonica - that day he wasn’t that hard to find, as he was playing his usual melody on it.

Carly wondered if there was a story behind that. She also wondered if he was playing it on purpose, so she could find him.

“Not much. Just what Jack told us while you were… when you were duelling Yusei. That you four along with Crow were together in a gang of sorts. Team Satisfaction, I think?”

Kiryu looked at her, his eyes unreadable.

“Of sorts. Yes.”

She had no clue why the idea clicked together in her head just now, but…

Yusei and Crow were Mornings.

Jack and Kiryu were Evenings.

“You… you four were…”

“Yes.”

“Oh… I see.”

“You seem surprised.”

“I just…” Carly trailed off. “Jack didn’t talk to me about… I mean… I figured. Also there is Aki now, who is also an Evening and--”

And Aki was beautiful, and strong, and maybe, just maybe, part of Carly was looking at them - at Jack and Yusei and Aki and thought that maybe… but no, they already had a fourth, right? It was Crow, and his big mouth and loud voice, the one who could make Aki laugh and Jack might have argued with him a lot but Jack argued with  _ everyone  _ he seemed to care about so…

Oh.

She was really stupid, wasn’t she?

“But I doubt you wanted to ask me about my relationship with them.”

“...right. Right” Carly fidgeted nervously, sitting down next to Kiryu. “You remember. All… of it, right?”

“...yes.”

“How?”

“I don’t know,” Kiryu shook his head slightly. “They just came back to me not long after I came back to life. That’s why I am here. To… find punishment for my sins.”

“...and do you remember me too? When I was…” Carly trailed off, and Kiryu just looked at her, and he didn’t even need to answer. “...what was I like?”

“Different,” Kiryu said simply. “Very focused on Jack still, however.”

“Right,” Carly felt her face heat up again. “So you are here to… go to the mountain?”

“Exactly.”

Something felt off to Carly about this whole thing.

But she couldn’t put her finger on it.

~*~

Kiryu kept going out, and kept coming back, and more and more people went to the mines, and the whole thing left a bad taste in her mouth.

“...but why are you doing this?”

“Until I am the one to lose and leave,” Kiryu replied simply. “I do this so I can be a dead man again.”

“...didn’t you die enough times already, Kiryu?”

Kiryu looked at her, and it was like the corner of his mouth twitched a bit.

“Clearly it didn’t stick. I intend it to stick this time.”

This wasn’t going to be good.

This wasn’t going to work.

“Don’t you think they would be sad? Jack, Yusei, Crow… they---”

“It’s better if they will never hear from me again. Their lives will be better.”

He was just not listening, at all.

People were going to the mountains, and never coming back - and this had to stop somehow.

Carly knew she wasn’t… she wasn’t good enough to stop the cycle.

But Kiryu was.

She just needed to give him incentive to  _ try. _

~*~

“I need help to sleep.”

She didn’t trust Barbara, not really. There was a gut feeling, part of her journalist intuition, so to speak. Barbara was beautiful, and her eyes cunning, but Carly needed her help now.

“Oh? You do look very tired, darling. You stayed longer than I expected.”

“...still didn’t get my answers, but I can’t get them unless I sleep.”

“Aren’t you going to ask for help, from that… Yusei Fudo for example?”

“...Yusei?”

Why would Barbara want Yusei to come here?

Nevertheless she shook her head.

“...no. Not Yusei. Nor the others. I… this is something I need to do myself. But for that, I need sleep.”

Barbara’s eyes were cold and calculating, but she told her in the end, which house was selling medicine.

It was easy to get a few sleeping pills.

And really, it should not have been that easy to drop one into Kiryu’s drink one afternoon.

The Ramon family did ride out without Kiryu - they often did, it was not unusual.

But this time, Kiryu would not show up, and Carly reached into her backpack, and grabbed her deck - drawing her fortune with a deep sigh.

Fortune Fairy Hu again.

_ Might find something you have lost. _

“That’s what I have been hoping for,” Carly muttered, putting the card back. “...but I can’t rely on you for this one, can I? I need to be able to put up a better fight.”

There was another deck hidden in her backpack.

Carly couldn’t have explained why she kept it. When she woke up, human again, without her memories, she had those with her.

She didn’t use it since.

But now…

Now she took Kiryu’s duel disk, and the Fortune Lady deck in her backpack, and decided to head into town.

~*~

“Huh?! Why are you here? Where is--”

“I am taking his role tonight.”

Carly tried to sound confident, but her voice was trembling - and the men snickered around her.

“You have nothing to lose! I am not part of your family so even if I lose--- even if I lose, I go to the mountain and not one of your men! And Kiryu will be here tomorrow to fight for you again anyway.”

“Why aren’t you letting her?” Barbara’s voice was amused, while she was leaning to the side of a building. “This might be good entertainment.”

They were all snickering, but they allowed her.

Carly swallowed.

Here goes nothing.

The sun was setting down - and the town yelled.

_ Duel! _

She was not fast enough to go first - but it didn’t matter.

She could do this.

She had to.

Her Fortune Ladies were strong - and combined with the Field Spell, Future Visions, she could keep herself standing, and her Fortune Ladies grounded.

Soon, her opponent was getting more and more agitated, especially when his Life Points started dropping.

_ Anger, though. Only anger. Not pain. Not like--- _

She gritted her teeth, pushing the thoughts away.

Fortune Lady Fire.

Fortune Lady Light.

_ Window shattering, darkness everywhere. _

_ Scream. _

_ Her own. _

_ Then a male scream, the abyss swallowing--- _

No, no, no. She needed to concentrate.

Fortune Lady Earth.

_ Purple fire. A giant shadow, with orange glow. _

_ The wind touching her face, the sound of D-wheels. _

She can’t.

She needed to--

“The power that resides in my Fortune Ladies have the power to shape my own destiny - synchro summon! Appear, Fortune Lady Every!”

Fortune Lady Every appeared on the field - and Future Visions wouldn’t get rid of it.

Obviously.

“Carly!”

She looked up, almost as a daze - and she saw Kiryu, with a---- no, it can’t be a panicked expression on his face, right?

It couldn’t have been.

A voice, another male voice ringing in the back of her mind.

_ “Right now, I am wishing with all my heart. I want to save someone I truly love - you!” _

She couldn’t move. Kiryu’s eyes scanned the duelling field, before his eyes hardened, and he nodded.

“Finish the duel, Carly. Don’t think about anything else. Just finish it.”

So she did.

She won.

She didn’t hear her opponent being dragged away - her legs gave out, but Kiryu was already there, and even though Carly blacked out, her body did not hit the ground.

~*~

~*~

“...I killed Divine didn’t I?”

“As I understand it, he killed you first, so that’s justified. I don’t think you should feel bad about that.”

Kiryu had a lot of regrets, and understood feeling the guilt of your past weighing one down - but he really thought that all things considered, Divine really had that one coming.

“But I did sacrifice people.”

“...yes, that much is undoubtedly true. They did come back, but--- yes. Yes we all did that.”

Carly was silent, sitting on the bed - and then she pulled her knees up to hug them, as if looking for comfort.

Comfort Kiryu could not give her.

“...I remember something else.”

Kiryu glanced at her, and she was avoiding looking at him - or was just too deep in thought, too distressed to look up.

Nevertheless, she continued.

“...Jack told me he loved me.”

“...ah.”

“But he didn’t mention it since. He doesn't… act like it at all. Why… did he say it then?”

“...that’s just like Jack.”

“Huh?”

Kiryu shook his head in disbelief, but couldn’t help the feeling of nostalgia rushing over him.

“He was always like that. Very hard pressed to actually  _ say _ what he felt, even if it was obvious.”

~*~

By the time Kiryu met the three of them, they were already joined at the hip, and Kiryu felt himself immediately drawn to them. As if his instincts were waking up, and telling him that  _ yes, this is what I need,  _ as soon as he met them, he couldn’t explain it. It was just something that was there, deep under his skin, some magnetic pull that pulled him towards the three of them.

The three of them, all different, but still joined at the hip. Yusei with his quiet strength, and constant hard work, Jack with his looming presence and boisterous attitude, and Crow with his constant energy and general loud behaviour.

He found it easiest to talk with Yusei at first. Crow was standoffish, protective of his friends and the status quo, and Jack felt like he constantly built a wall between himself and others.

Or rather he built a wall and climbed on it to get away from others - others who he wasn’t already attached to, that is.

Yusei on the other hand, was quiet but earnest - Kiryu found that it was so, so easy to get lost in those vivid blue eyes.

He was clever with his hands, and that was actually how they started to talk - after a run-in with Security, his duel disk was broken, and Yusei offered to fix it for him.

“Did someone teach you how to do this?”

“No,” Yusei replied, shaking his head. “It was… trial and error. But you don’t need to worry. I know what I’m doing.”

For some reason, Kiryu found himself not worrying at all, just asking Yusei about their life - Kiryu was coming from another side of Satellite, and he was wondering if it was better elsewhere.

It wasn’t.

It was the same everywhere he went.

Not every other place had Yusei, though, and there was something captivating in those blue eyes that made him stay.

Kiryu noticed there was something between Jack and Yusei first, which was - surprising, maybe. He guessed there was  _ something  _ between the three of them, but maybe he guessed that Crow would show something first - he was a Morning, just like Yusei, so not with him, obviously, but he was bickering a lot with Jack, so he was kind of expecting their usual bickering to explode with a furious kiss, mostly.

Instead, he caught sight of a silent moment.

He saw Jack and Yusei sitting on the back stairs, next to each other, lost in each other’s eyes, Yusei’s hand on Jack’s arm. Jack was frowning, whatever Yusei was saying obviously made him conflicted, but he did not pull away.

Did not pull away when Yusei leaned forward and pressed their lips together either, just buried his fingers in Yusei’s perpetually messy hair.

Jack was not showing his emotions a lot - even after that, he was not acting too different towards Yusei, and that made Kiryu wonder if it was a recent development or not.

Probably not.

And he was somewhat right - seeing as one time when Jack and Crow bickered about a plan - to be precise, Crow volunteered to be bait, Jack called him and idiot, then Crow called  _ him  _ an idiot and demanded Jack trust him, Jack said he can’t trust anyone to walk into uncertain situation blindly, and---

And then Crow just shut Jack up with a kiss.

And judging by Yusei’s non-reaction to that,  _ that  _ kiss wasn’t the first time either.

Crow and his fire and uncontrolled impulses led to Kiryu’s first kiss with either of them as well.

He might have thought of kissing Yusei first, his deep blue eyes and rare smiles, and his quietly magnetic personality - but Crow was not far behind, impossible to miss and ignore.

Crow was enthusiastic about being bait, but sometimes, especially early on, they misjudged things - the enemies were more brutal against Crow, they got there just a bit late, and Kiryu hurried there, his fist connecting with the gang member’s face, pulling Crow to his feet.

And Crow put his arms around Kiryu’s neck, and Kiryu at first thought he was just holding on, but then Crow  _ kissed him,  _ and Crow’s kiss was just as impulsive and without inhibitions than everything about Crow was.

“Now is not the time, Crow!”

Jack’s voice was the one that dragged them back into reality, and they parted, and Crow was glaring daggers at Jack for interrupting them.

“Well  _ someone  _ had to! And Yusei wasn’t going to, because it took him forever to make a move on  _ you _ as well, so--”

“ _ Timing, Crow!” _

“Well you know wha--”

“Jack is right,” Kiryu interrupted him gently, letting go of Crow, much to his visible annoyance, and Kiryu just smirked. “Let’s take out the trash first. You’ll have plenty of time to satisfy me later~”

If Crow’s kiss was wild and unrestrained, Yusei’s was soft, and anchoring, and when the four of them were in one pile of warm bodies and limbs, Kiryu actually felt satisfied.

Until of course everything went up in flames.

He remembered his anger and hatred - he remembered the betrayal he felt when first Jack and Crow left, and later even Yusei turned his back on him, and then they came back, to leave him again, and---

And then he was alone, closed in with his sense of betrayal and his pain and  _ he wanted to lash out, to hurt them, and--- _

And then he  _ could. _

He remembered enjoying it. He remembered the delight he felt upon seeing the shock on the faces of all three of them, the way his appearance shook them to the core, and he remembered thinking -  _ good. _

Yusei was  _ afraid,  _ and Kiryu was  _ delighted, _ and he couldn’t wait to see the light die out in Yusei’s eyes once Kiryu’s vengeance was done - and he  _ knew  _ he was going to be satisfied by that.

And he remembered Carly - when she showed up, led by Misty, she seemed unsure, but she was just like them.

Mostly.

When her vengeful side appeared, a grin was on her face, and grabbed Kiryu by the wrist.

“Hey. Hey, Jack is mine. Got it?”

“We all have roles to play,” Kiryu snickered, leaning forward, their faces almost touching, and Carly was staring back, unblinking. “Yusei is mine, Jack is yours. Possessive much?”

“You want to kill Yusei.”

“I sure do. His fault I died. And you don’t want to kill Jack.”

“Of course I don’t,” Carly grinned. “I love him, after all. He is  _ mine.  _ Hurt him, and I hurt you, gods or no.”

“And you take out Yusei before I do, and  _ I _ hurt  _ you. _ ”

“I guess that gives us an understanding, then~”

Kiryu snickered, and Carly let his wrist go.

Of course it did not happen like that, at all.

And that’s why the two of them were in their current situation.

~*~

Carly grabbed Kiryu by the wrist one day - her grip so much different than compared to back then when they were both  _ dead, _ and pulled him towards the mines.

And pointed at the countless duel disks.

Grave markers.

…

Oh, of course.

Kiryu was an idiot.

(Once again… once again.)

(He was just sacrificing people for his own desires.)

(He was such a pathetic person.)

“We need to save this town.”

Carly fixed her glasses nervously, and Kiryu glanced at her.

“People… they are suffering under these constant battles. We need to put a stop to it.”

“Do you think the two of us would be enough to do it?”

“Maybe not. But we can ask for help.”

“...you are not thinking…”

“Not them, no,” Carly shook her head. “I… I can tell you don’t really know how to face them yet. Besides, they are training for the WRGP. No, but… I know someone else who might help us. And I think… she is infamous enough that probably even this town had heard of her.”

Her?

Infamous?

...oh.

Time to see if a black rose can bloom in a desert, then.

~*~

Kiryu was vaguely aware of Aki Izayoi. He knew she was a Signer, who was close to Yusei in particular - he saw clips of their duel during the Fortune Cup, the way Yusei got through to her.

A beautiful Evening woman. Dangerous and proud, and  _ painfully  _ Yusei’s type.

“Do you think she took my place?”

He didn’t need to specify, seeing as hearing his question, Carly jumped a little, nervously.

“I don’t know. They don’t really tell me anything,” She shook her head, sadly. “I… maybe? Probably? They helped her get her license and everything, so she even has her D-wheel now.”

And indeed, Aki did arrive to Crash Town on her red D-wheel, instantly visible from the distance.

She was not someone who was easy to miss, after all. There were many eyes on her as soon as she rolled in, Kiryu didn’t even need to be in town to realise that - only Carly went in to talk with her, and then in a little time, the two women arrived on Aki’s D-wheel, Carly clinging to her back, and Kiryu noticed a faint blush on her face as she got off.

Aki walked towards Kiryu, with a wary expression on her face, as Kiryu pushed himself away from the wall.

“I don’t believe we have been formally introduced yet.”

“No, we hadn’t. But I know who you are.”

“And I know who  _ you  _ are,” Kiryu smirked a little. “So can we cut to the chase? Have you told Yusei where you were coming?”

“I just told them Carly asked for my help,” Aki replied. “Didn’t tell them you were also here. They would have come along and Carly explicitly told me I should avoid that. But I don’t like keeping secrets from them.”

Made sense.

They were all Signers - bound together with some profound destiny Kiryu or even Carly couldn’t really understand.

“It’s just for a little bit!” Carly said nervously, flailing around with her arms. “We just… this town is in a bad shape. We want to help them, but we can’t do it alone.”

“Yusei would have helped too,” Aki frowned. “Jack and Crow as well. Isn’t more people the merrier?”

“There are some things in the past I do not wish to face yet,” Kiryu replied, looking into the distance. “I’m sure you have unpleasant memories you do not like to face either, Black Rose Witch.”

Silence.

Then Aki sighed.

“What shall we do, then?”

~*~

The three of them really did not face much trouble, cleaning up the town, and Carly got a story out of it in the end.

Sure she would have to tweak some details, but…

“If I publish it, it’s possible Security will show up here,” Carly said, not looking at the others, just nervously shuffling one of her decks. “So… I don’t think there is a point trying to stand guard here.”

“So what do you recommend we do?”

Kiryu asked, and Carly did not answer, just kept shuffling her deck, and Aki’s eyes were on both of them.

“You two… you are not telling me everything, are you?”

Silence. Carly looked up at Aki, their eyes meeting each other.

“...Aki, how do you deal with the pain you caused while being the Black Rose Witch?”

Aki looked taken aback, and then her expression became clouded, looking down.

“I cannot change the past,” Aki said softly. “The only thing I can do is to… keep going forward, help as many people as I can, and not cause more pain. I cannot change the past, but we can change the future.”

“That sounds profound,” Kiryu said, and Aki smiled a little, fondly.

“Crow told me that, once.”

Of course he did.

“So, the three of them are preparing for this tournament, right? And I assume you are their benchwarmer?”

“I suppose so,” Aki nodded. “But I don’t think that will be needed. Yusei, Jack and Crow are all extremely good at their job. But just in case…”

Kiryu nodded, and turned to Carly, with a smirk.

“Say, Carly… want to join a tournament?”

“Wh… whaaaat?!” Carly flailed around and Kiryu grinned again.

“You and I. Join the WRGP.”

“I don’t even have a licence! Do  _ you  _ even have a licence? I never even rode a D-wheel only when I was possessed! That doesn’t count! I don’t even have a deck for riding duels!”

“You have your Fortune Ladies.”

“...okay maybe I do have a deck, but the rest of the points are still standing!”

“Nothing we can’t solve, if you would say yes. Maybe you would be able to face Jack again. And maybe get an answer.”

Carly pursed her lips, and looked down at her deck.

And drew a card.

She looked at it for a few moments, before showing it towards Kiryu.

“Fortune Fairy Hu. I keep drawing this card ever since I came here, and keeps telling me I might find something I lost,” Carly explained, before looking back at her card again. “I think my deck keeps telling me that I should keep looking.”

“So is that a yes?”

Carly smiled as a response.

“You two remember what happened don’t you? When you were Dark Signers.”

Aki’s voice was gentle, as the two of them looked at her, and Carly smiled back, sadly.

“I started to remember not long after I met Kiryu here. I’m still… looking for answers. And for that, I think, I’ll have to face Jack. And the WRGP is the best chance for me.”

“But if the two of you start a team, you will be at a disadvantage,” Aki pointed it out. “You should find a third team member.”

“Are you volunteering?” Kiryu smirked and Aki smiled, shaking her head.

“I already have a team.”

Of course she did.

Carly nodded, determined, looking at Kiryu.

“We could look for Bommer. He has experience with Riding Duels, and I’m sure his family would be happy to root for him.”

Aki smiled, and she stepped forward, taking both of Carly’s hands with her own hands.

“Do you think that facing Jack would give you the answers you need?”

“I don’t know,” Carly admitted, and Kiryu could see how her face was turning red. Probably from Aki’s closeness. “But that’s the best chance I have. Last time I faced him… when I duelled him… he was the most honest to me then. I need his honesty again.”

~*~

~*~

“Team Nazca. It’s a horrible name, really.”

Carly muttered, and Kiryu grinned, putting his hair into a ponytail and it should have been  _ illegal  _ for him to do that, really.

“No point in running from our past now, is there? Besides you two vetoed Team Satisfaction Part 2.”

“Because that name would have been even  _ worse,  _ and I’m sure Crow would have jumped through the pit lanes to strangle us for it.”

“That’s always a possibility, yes.”

Bommer was outside, talking with his siblings, who were very excited about being their Pit Crew, and Carly was nervously fixing her own outfit.

She wasn’t really used to these bodysuits, after all.

(It was kind of worth it though when they showed up, and Carly saw Angela’s jaw drop, and--- hah. Serves her right.)

“So. Jack will go first, huh?”

“Yeah,” Kiryu nodded, his eyes searching Carly’s face. “Are you sure about wanting to go first?”

Carly knew that strategically it did not make sense. It would have made more sense to have Bommer start their duels, and Kiryu close them.

Kiryu was still going to be their last rider.

“Yes I am. I need to face Jack, and… find out what he really thinks. I need to find the answers. Even if I lose against him, I... “

“The two of us will handle it then,” Kiryu nodded, with a small smirk on his face. “Go and kick his ass, though. Or at least be sure you are satisfied at the end of it.”

~*~

She walked towards the starting line, her heart beating in her throat.

Jack was already sitting there, his eyes meeting Carly’s, and his expression was… unreadable.

“Carly!”

She stopped, turning back, as Kiryu went after her - and he just grabbed her waist, pulling her in, and kissed her.

Carly froze for a few moments, and it was like everything went silent - even though she knew that was not the case, as they were in the middle of a crowded stadium.

And yet.

The kiss ended, and there was a smirk on Kiryu’s face, and Carly felt her face heat up, especially as she could  _ feel  _ the eyes of Team 5D’s on them.

“...you miss them. Team Satisfaction.”

She heard her own voice, and Kiryu didn’t stop smirking.

“And you want to be with them.”

“...and you.”

“And I didn’t kiss you for no reason either.”

“Do you think… that could work?”

Six of them? Three Mornings and Three Evenings, could that work?

Kiryu’s smirk turned into a grin.

“That would be most satisfactory, wouldn’t it?”

Carly laughed a little, before pulling away, and put her helmet on to walk up to her D-wheel, and her eyes met Jack’s, who was… gritting his teeth maybe?

_ Just wait, Jack. I’ll get my answers. _

She thought of Fortune Fairy Hu.

_ I need to get back what I lost. _

_ And that includes you. _

**Author's Note:**

> I am terribly sorry about the open ending but I hope you still enjoyed!  
> Thanks for reading!


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